Such vessels are commonly used to rid port waters of waste floating on the surface thereof, such as floating objects or oil slicks.
Most vessels of this type make use of pumping devices which require relatively complicated mechanical, hydraulic and electrical installations and are thus expensive to produce and keep in operation. Moreover, an operator who has the task of checking that such devices are functioning will require good knowledge of mechanics, hydraulics and electricity, and this can only be provided by expensive training.
One of the objects of the invention is to provide a new and improved waste collecting vessel.
Another object is to provide a new and improved vessel for collecting waste without using a specific pumping or gathering device.
A further object is to provide a new and improved waste collecting vessel that does not require additional actions over and above those required to maneuver the vessel.
To this end, according to the invention, a vessel as mentioned in the introductory paragraph comprises a retainer able to trap and retain said waste, and to be activated by creating a water flow channel which is adapted to be connected to a water inlet and a water outlet provided in said vessel, the retainer being arranged on at least one trajectory of the channel.
The invention thus ensures automatic activation of the retainer simply by creating a flow of water along the water flow channel which then directs the various waste present at the water inlet of said channel towards the retainer, the water outlet returning water that has been ‘filtered” since it has been freed of said waste.
The retainer could for example be activated solely by moving the vessel, and would thus not require any particular mechanism or control during operation thereof. All that is required is for an operator to pilot the vessel and to direct it towards the waste that he wishes to collect, with the vessel picking up said waste as it moves along. The only skill required by the operator in order to carry out such clean-up operations is the ability to maneuver such a vessel under its conditions of use, that is to say in a port, on a river, etc.
Preferably, the retainer includes a retainer for liquid waste located on a first trajectory of said channel.
The liquid waste retainer makes it possible, for example, to collect oil slicks which are present close to and/or on the surface of the body of water or waterway on which the vessel is traveling.
With a view to such an application, the vessel preferably also comprises a heater for an upper surface of the water flow channel. The heater is arranged to fluidify the oil which may be present in the form of clumps or semi-rigid pellets.
The liquid waste retainer, in one embodiment, comprises a holding tank arranged so the water flow through the flow channel is while the vessel is moving.
The vessel also preferably comprises a temperature regulator inside the holding tank. The temperature regulator enables the oil contained in the tank to stay in a liquid state to facilitate subsequent emptying of the tank, for example, by pumping.
The holding tank has various configurations. It preferably has:                an inlet, adapted to be connected to the inlet of the water flow channel, formed by an upper edge of said tank and designed to be placed close to the surface of the water, and        an outlet, adapted to be connected to the Outlet of said channel, formed by an orfice in a bottom of said tank and arranged to be obstructed by a closure in response to said tank being full of liquid waste.        
Since oil is, by its nature lighter than water, oil gradually accumulates in the holding tank described above. As a result, the water, freed of this oil, escapes via the bottom of said tank. The tank thus makes it possible to collect and store liquid waste without in any way interrupting the flow of water along the flow channel between the water inlet and the water outlet. This flow is interrupted only in response to the holding tank being full, that is to say, when the vessel cannot collect any more liquid waste on board. Such an interruption to the flow is then brought about by the closure.
The closure preferably comprises a float having at least one surface capable of covering the orifice which forms the outlet of the tank, which float has a density greater than that of the liquid waste and lower than that of water.
This embodiment of the closure is advantageous because it allows automatic closure of the holding tank in response to the tank being full. This is because, since the float is heavier than the oil held in the tank, the float is gradually pushed downwards towards the orifice in the bottom of the tank as the latter fills with liquid waste. When the tank is full, the float naturally presses against said orifice and thus closes off the outlet of the tank.
According to a second aspect of the invention, the retainer includes a solid waste retainer arranged on a second trajectory of said channel.
The retainer can also comprise both liquid waste retainer and a solid waste retainer. The fact that these retainers are placed on first and second trajectories makes it possible to ensure that the flow of water along one of the two trajectories is not interrupted solely because the flow of water along the other trajectory is interrupted.
If the solid waste retainer is arranged upstream of the water flow channel with respect to the liquid waste retainer, the first and second trajectories of said channel may be coincident between the inlet of the channel and an outlet of the solid waste retainer.
Such an arrangement of the liquid waste retainer and the solid waste retainer makes it possible to reduce the size of the vessel while minimizing the risks of premature interruptions in the water flow trajectories.
This is mainly because an interruption to the flow of water occurs when the liquid waste retainer is full of such waste. The interruption prevents discharge of liquid waste towards the water outlet of the vessel. The location of the solid waste retainer upstream of the liquid waste retainer, with the first and second trajectories diverging downstream of the solid waste retainer, makes it possible to ensure that an interruption to the flow of water through the liquid waste retainer does not significantly affect the operation of the solid waste retainer.
The solid waste retainer can have various configurations, and can in particular comprise at least one grille arranged across the water flow channel.
The means solid waste retainer preferably comprises a first and a second grille which project with respect to one another and are secured to one another so as to form an assembly, which assembly can move with respect to said vessel.
This preferred embodiment of the solid waste retainer allows said waste to be collected and stored in an effective manner, and makes it possible to easily empty the waste into a container when the vessel is to be unloaded of its waste.
The vessel can be set in motion in many ways, for example by an electric propeller motor or a spark ignition motor, such as an outboard motor with an adapted flow deflector. According to a third aspect of the invention, a vessel as described above also comprises a turbine designed to drive said vessel in motion, which turbine has an inlet arranged downstream of the outlet of the water flow channel and an outlet designed to produce a jet of water towards the outside of said vessel, below the surface of the body of water or waterway.
This third aspect of the invention is advantageous in that, since the turbine is placed in the continuation of the water flow channel, said turbine can control the water flow rate in said channel, and in particular can increase this flow rate, which is particularly useful for example during a start-up phase. Even though movement of the vessel is relatively slow during the start up phase, effective collection of the waste is ensured by a high flow rate brought about by the turbine in the water flow channel.
The outlet of the turbine advantageously includes a deflector which has an adjustable position, which position determines the direction of a jet of water produced by said turbine.
The deflector makes it possible to maneuver the vessel without requiring any other structure dedicated to this specific purpose, such as an attached rudder.
In the case where the vessel has a single hull, the water inlet and water outlet are preferably in the bow and in the stern of said hull, which will comprise a hollow part defining the water flow channel.
However, according to a fourth aspect of the invention, a vessel as described above has at least two hulls which are secured to one another and are substantially parallel to one another. The distance separating said hulls defines the width of the water flow channel.
Such a multi-hull structure gives the vessel greater stability and better maneuverability, and makes it possible to produce the water flow channel in a simple manner, said channel being formed naturally between the hulls.
Such a vessel could also comprise a fairing which connects the bottoms of said hulls. The distance separating said fairing from the surface of the body of water or waterway defines the depth of the water flow channel.
The fairing makes it possible to isolate the water flow channel from any eddy coming from below the vessel which could risk disturbing the operation of the retaining means.
This fairing can include rolling elements, such as wheels, to facilitate moving the vessel on dry land.